First place in the ACC Atlantic Division has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? The Eagles now stand at 5-2 (3-2 ACC), and simply embarrassed former head coach Tom O'Brien. O'Brien's seat just got a little bit warmer as NC State is now 0-3 in ACC play. Boston College had a complete game from both sides of the ball, dominated the line of scrimmage, and shutdown NC State playmaker Russell Wilson. Coach Spaz, Coach Tranquill and Coach McGovern have to be pleased with the bounce-back effort from the Virginia Tech debacle.

Montel Harris -- While there's no such thing as a running back controversy, Harris used this game to certify himself as the number one back. Harris set the Boston College all-time record for rushing touchdowns (5) in a game, and rushing yards (264) in a game (breaking the 1972 record by Phil Bennett).

Harris averaged a whopping 9.8 yards per carry, which included a 70-yard scamper.

Dave Shinskie - a little home cooking did Shinskie well, as he had a solid game, with two touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a beautiful pump-and-go 59 yard touchdown pass.

Shinskie displayed good accuracy and pocket presence, and was able to shake off last week's poor showing at Virginia Tech. He took a nice blind-sided shot in the first half, but it didn't seem to rattle him.

Colin Larmond - Larmond has quickly become a home run threat. Since the season began, he's had long catches of 42, 48, 57, 59, and 62 yards. He's a vital cog in stretching the defense, which helps Harris have days like he did Saturday.

Luke Kuechly --the freshman was all over the field against NC State, totaling an early career-high 10 solo tackles. One has to wonder how much Mark Herzlich's coaching on the sidelines is improving his play. My magic 8 ball says "Signs point to yes".

Wes Davis -- with NC State driving in BC territory at the end of the first half, Davis had a key interception that the Eagles converted into three points to go into halftime up 24-13. Davis also showed his run stuffing skills, coming up from his safety position to stop the run on more than one occasion.

Jim Ramella - Ramella sealed the game with his strip sack late in the third quarter. Ramella eluded the pulling guard on a play-action pass, popped the ball loose from Wilson then cradled it in for the recovery with one hand while taking Wilson to the ground. It was the epitome of playing a full game for the entire defense as they had struggled with leads late in the past two victories.

Mike McLaughlin -- McLaughlin's agility seems to be slowly returning to him as he cast a wide net on running plays, and had some sure-handed tackles in space. He was able to cover sideline-to-sideline in passing situations which helps alleviate the pressure on the defensive secondary. The highlight being his de-cleater of Tony Baker on a halfback swing pass in the second quarter.

Marcellus Bowman - Bowman was a blanket on Wolfpack wideouts, and had a nice sack in the first quarter where he dodged a block from the halfback en route to getting to Russell Wilson.

Rich Gunnell -- While Gunnell was overshadowed by some bigger plays, his stats would have been higher had he not stepped out before a reception in the first quarter, and dropped a wide-open catch later at midfield. That negated a nice leaping grab on the sideline. Gary Tranquill seems to be using him as a decoy on some plays which opens up the middle of the field for the tight ends.

Wild Eagle -- the first play from this formation went 70 yards. Montel Harris later scored from it in the 3rd quarter. It was quite obvious that this set was worked on heavily during practice as Harris was barely touched on any play he ran from the Wild Eagle.

BC's Third down Defense - BC held the Wolfpack to 2 for 9 in the first half and 2 for 7 in the second half on third down conversions. The Eagles two third-down stops in the third quarter allowed them to break the game wide open as the Eagles outscored NC State 21-0 in the third quarter alone.